Chapter 339: Wheels of the Xin Tribe (Please vote and subscribe)
One type is a solid wood wheel made by elders, using knives, axes and chisels. To put it simply, a piece of wood is cut directly from a log with a copper axe, and a hole is drilled in the middle to insert the axle. This type of wheel is simple to make, but it also has disadvantages, that is, it is too heavy, and it is difficult to make the same size.
In addition, this type of wheel also encountered the same problem that Luo Chong made wheels at that time. If this large piece of wood is cut thick, the weight will be too heavy, but it will turn more steadily, after all, the contact surface of the grip is larger, just like the tire of a sports car.
If it is cut thinner, the weight problem is solved, and the wheel becomes lighter, but the stability of the wheel becomes worse. When walking, it will be like the one made by Luo Chong at that time, swaying on both sides.
Moreover, this type of solid wood wheel has another biggest weakness, that is, it cannot be made too large, because its maximum diameter is the diameter of the log, and they have no way to knock down a tree over one meter. Even if they spend several days chopping it with a copper axe, they cannot transport or chop a wooden wheel.
Besides, even if they can really cut out a wood chip wheel with a diameter of one meter, the radius is only half a meter, which means that the height of the axle is half a meter, and the frame has to be installed on the axle. You can imagine how low the chassis of this car will be, which is not suitable for cattle and horses.
However, this can't stop their inventions. Solid wooden wheels can't be used to make large carts, but it's still okay to make small carts. Several elders gave full play to their imagination and finally used bamboo as a bracket and wood chips as wheels to make the first wheelbarrow of Xin tribe.
This wheelbarrow is pushed by two people. One person holds the two handles in front and pulls with a rope, and the other person pushes forward from the back.
Although this consumes two people's manpower, it is much more labor-saving than carrying a shoulder pole. As for why two people are needed, it is because they found that if a certain weight of goods is loaded on the wheelbarrow, it is difficult to control the balance of the car.
What? Some people say to make two wheels? It's not that they don't understand the principle that two wheels are more stable, but they simply can't make two wood chip wheels with the same diameter.
The other type is the wheel made by the captain of the caravan. It looks very similar to the wheel of the Han tribe, but it is just a model.
The captain of the caravan had heard about the specific details of the ox cart, so he naturally knew the structure of the wheel. The wheel is mainly composed of three parts: the wheel core, which is the place where the axle is sleeved, the spring for support, and the outer ring of the wheel.
The captain first cut some thinner bamboos, picked out the same thickness for spare, and cut these thin bamboos into the same length to use as the spring to support the wheel. Then he encountered trouble when making the wheel core. He could not accurately make a wooden wheel core, and there were no suitable tools for others, but this was not difficult for him.
The captain quickly came up with an idea, which was to use mud to make the wheel core. The wheel core is the most complicated part of the wheel. It has to connect the spring and the axle at the same time. Not only does it have to open a hole in the horizontal direction to insert the axle, but it also has to divide many holes on the outer diameter to insert the spring. For such a complicated part, the captain simply made one out of mud and then fired it into a pottery part.
With the ceramic wheel core, the next step is easy. The spring is ready, just insert the thin bamboo pole. For the outer ring, the team leader chooses a bamboo with a thicker outer wall.
Choose a thick bamboo with appropriate thickness, and then do not split it, just bend it with fire, gradually bend it into a circle, and then divide the position of the spring evenly, and then use a copper awl to drill holes in the bamboo pole after it is heated red, and finally connect the outer ring.
The wheels made in this way are very delicate, and they can be made as big as you want. They are also very light. After all, except for a wheel core made of clay, the rest of the materials are made of bamboo. However,
although such a bamboo wheel meets the needs of making a cart, it also has disadvantages. The first is that it is not strong enough.
It is okay to load some light objects on a cart made of bamboo wheels, but if it is loaded too heavy, the wheel will deform or even crack. Even the pottery wheel core can't help but complain. The pottery parts are too brittle and the hardness is so high. If the car is loaded with heavy objects and it bumps a little while moving, the clay wheel core is in danger of breaking. This is because pottery has no room for buffering.
Another point is that the wheel slips, and the road is very picky. You can imagine that his bamboo wheel is made of a whole bamboo, and the outermost circle is just roasted with fire, but how smooth the surface of the bamboo is, don't you know?
The wheel surface is too smooth, which directly leads to poor grip and little friction. It would be strange if the wheel does not slip when walking.
Although there are a lot of problems with these two types of wheels, this also solves the situation of Xin tribe from scratch. It is a good start. At least they have accumulated experience in making wheels, and it will be easier to improve them in the future.
A group of people happily took the newly invented car to Qingquan Valley, wanting to ask for credit in front of the leader to see if they can get any rewards.
In the north of Hanyang City, a huge flying eagle carried a letter from Luo Chong to Youye and a small package on its feet, flying all the way to Beiji. It has a good sense of direction and excellent eyesight. There are also rivers on the ground as guides. It is impossible for it to get lost unless the tower is shot down.
After flying northward for two days, the giant eagle finally saw the tribal alliance living near the fork of the river. Just as the giant eagle arrived, another giant eagle they brought also came back from afar and caught a deer. As a result, they happened to meet their companions. The two eagles immediately shouted and made a noise, turning several circles in the air, and then reluctantly returned to the ground with the things.
When Youye saw Luo Chong's reply, he immediately told the contents of the letter to the leaders of the tribal alliance, which also surprised the old men.
"You said that your leader is the god who unified all the tribes on the stone slab? Do you have any evidence?" asked an old man from the tribe.
"Here is a tribal flag sent by our leader. Please take a look. Are the Chinese characters on it very similar to the totem statue on your stone slab? In addition, here is a set of hair crowns and hairpins worn by our leader. You see, this thing was invented by our leader. He is the first person I have seen wearing this thing.
And the most important point is that our leader's mount is the same as the one in the mural, a one-tusked elephant. Moreover, we just finished fighting with the cannibals a while ago, and all the surrounding tribes have joined our Han tribe. The contents of these paintings are all realized in our tribe."
(End of this chapter)
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